jbwent63

TD Direct Investing here. Was with a full service broker 20 years ago, but am happy doing it myself. Use TD for banking, credit etc. and have Private Client access for any bank related needs. Like their platform, offerings, and research (now TD Cowen). No complaints. I am not an active trader, so the fees do not come into the equation. MMF's are pretty good too, IMO for that cash just sitting in the accounts.

Can one of you fine folks explain to me why we have plowed so much money into Farmers Edge with seemingly no end of losses in sight? It's not like I've never done the same in my business. One good year and your optimism takes over and you support the losses believing another good year will come soon. What are the prospects for the business to keep Fairfax from selling it for pennies or ceasing operations? Is this Fairfax's spinning mill business? Thanks in advance.

I think there are two hints about what Buffett/Abel thing about the IV of the shares. One is that they agreed to issue shares to take in the last ~2% of BHE (presumably from the Scott estate) and that there were no buybacks in at least the last two quarters.

The last few have been less than thrilling, in part I think due to the large cash warchest that has been accumulated with few interesting investments being made (aside from Pilot and Allegheny) in the past few years. A roadmap for the use of the cash (if any other than a shield against volatility) would be useful as shareholders. Even though the past few years have been less exciting, I know, along with many on this board, I will be hitting the refresh button at the appointed minute to get access to it the moment it is available. Happy reading!

Isn't Oaktree owned or controlled by Brookfield? They certainly buy businesses, so maybe that would be the vehicle it would use for this deal.

I think you may be right. While we all know WEB won't be with us forever, reading what appears to be a significant decline in his health, while not surprising, is somewhat sobering. I wonder if we will see him on stage in Omaha. It might be too much for him (which makes Charlie doing it every year until his death at 99 even more amazing). Long live WEB!

Other includes huge swings in f/x gains and losses, primarily on the foreign denominated debt (think yen debt). If this is stripped away, operating earnings are actually higher.

All those purchases were in September, reported yesterday.

The 92% figure is from the BRK 10-K on page K-7. Does the filing state that BRK now owns 100% of BHE? Is it possible that there is another minority shareholder that is still holding a small position?

I've never seen it mentioned, but does anyone know if either Markel or Berkshire own any Fairfax stock? With BRK's recent purchase of Allegheny seemingly doing well, and the mountain of cash in Omaha, might FFH be a target? Would the Watsa family agree to sell? I know there is a history with Markel, being the roots of FFH, any chance they might take a run at Fairfax?

I have been looking through the annual shareholder pages on the various company websites and note the following (shares are in thousands): Marubeni Corp: BNYM AS AGT/CLTS 10 PERCENT 162,554 9.71 Mitsui Corp: BNYM AS AGT/CLTS 10 PERCENT 137,862 9.16% Sumitomo Corp: BNYM AS AGT／CLTS 10 PERCENT 113,294 9.27% Itochu Corp.: BNYM AS AGT ／ CLTS 10 PERCENT 130,162 9.04% Mitsubishi Corp.: BNYM AS AGT / CLTS 10 PERCENT 402,862 9.78 Fair to assume these are holdings of NICO as of 3/31/24? Or might there be some comingling with other clients of BNYM.

If you are a Canadian resident for tax purposes and cease to be so, you are deemed to have sold all your assets with the capital gains being taxed. Similar rules at death. If you believe you will return eventually, you can make an agreement with the MOF and post a bond to cover the estimated taxes just in case you don't return to Canada.

I am stoked to see the movie since I am unable to attend this year due to work commitments (will be watching from Poland, hopefully).

I, too, was planning on attending but work has gotten in the way. I hope to be able to access the stream. Is the recording made available after the meeting?

+1

With the dividends being much larger than the interest on the related debt, if you take into account all the elements, is it possible that the equity sliver has been ground down to zero or less at this point? Therefore making the return uncalculatable i.e. infinity?

+1

Thank you. It looks like more of the Japanese trading houses have been purchased since the last filing with the Japanese Stock authorities.

I apologize for not remembering who was posting the NICO regulatory filings, but if they would be so kind as to do so for year end it would be much appreciated. Especially the investment section. Thanks in advance.

My first purchase of BH was when the B shares were introduced at 30-1. Using tax advantaged (RRSP) accounts, I purchased 15 B shares. After the 50-1 (BNSF) split I added a few more shares in one of the significant dips and have never sold a share. I have written covered calls against a part of my position a couple of times (including a failed attempt late last week). I understand the comments that holding an S&P index fund would have done as well (although probably not in my case given the time I invested) but I own BH as a hedge against the craziness of the general stock markets. I am convinced that in a draw down of markets (it has and will happen again) BH will significantly outperform. So in that sense it is my insurance policy (instead of S&P 500 puts perhaps). Folks will always need insurance. The fortress balance sheet (sorry, Mr. Dimen) adds further protection. I haven't owned FFH for as long, and it isn't as large a position, but it is large enough. Having lived through the lean years of the late 2010's and not sold any shares I am hopeful that Mr. Watsa's current strategy will provide more protection in a down draft.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/915191/000110465924025508/tm246589d1_sc13d.htm These reports start at the top of the ownership structure.....with Mr. Watsa personally.....so then you see the Watsa family holding companies, then finally Fairfax....and the amount of shares held by Fairfax (46,724,700) is unchanged from the prior quarter. This is what was also reported in the 13-F on February 14, 2024.

I was just looking at the filing. Gurufocus states that FFH also acquired additional BB shares which appears to be false. It looks like one of the Watsa holding companies (The Second 810 Holding Co) acquired 129,000 shares and then Prem was awarded 296,571 shares upon leaving the board. I might be wrong but I don't think FFH has more BB shares and the note was repaid.

I thought Jen was a superstar on the call. I am an accountant so what she says isn't gobbledegook like it could be for non-accountants. I loved it when she stuck the knife in "IFRS is not USGAAP". That was an FU to Mr. Block. Then he asks for more disclosure of immaterial items. Sorry, that's not how it works. In my opinion Fairfax's disclosures are quite comprehensive, especially when compared to MRK or BH (Markel lumps all its non-insurance Ventures investments into one bucket with little further detail other than a breakdown into categories). It will be interesting to see if FFH increases any of its disclosures in the 2023 AR. I thought Prem sounded strong (pissed off maybe) and Mr. Clarke was nervous...although that may be par for the course with him (I don't recall thinking this on earlier calls). So now, what does everyone think about the AGM? Does Mr. Block show his face?

Still requesting confidential treatment.....dammit.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's 13-F filings....in particular if there are amendments to the 9/30 filing to remove the requested permission to not disclose a position, or if that permission is still granted. Is there any scuttlebutt as to which name it could be?